


Part Time Ghost

by Imacream



Category: Underworld Office (Visual Novel)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, BAMF River, Eugene & Luke Friendship, Eugene has Anxiety, Family Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, Let Eugene say fuck, Mortal of the Underworld Office Ending, author has no clue what they're doing, slice of life ig?, spontaneous updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28388160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imacream/pseuds/Imacream
Summary: Eugene had payed his debt but that doesn't mean his time at the Underworld Office is over. He's officially a part time worker (not a newbie River. NOT A NEWBIE!).Part time being the key word there. Because maintaining friendships and school takes up the other sixteen or so hours of his day. Heavens forbid they make it easy on him??
Relationships: Boss & Eugene, Boss & River, Eugene & Hayden, Eugene & Joan, Eugene & Luke, Eugene & River
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	Part Time Ghost

There was no nightmare this time.

Eugene couldn’t remember the last time he slept without nightmares. Everytime, there was a reflection waiting to show him the monster he could turn into. There was just himself this time.

It was refreshing to wake up energized he decided. He swung his legs round the bed frame sparing a glance where Boss had sat the night before. He shoved the same hoodie he always wore over his head and wore the broken glasses. He swiped his bag before running down the old stairs. His hand ran down the handbar. It was the only way it ever got dusted but it was working.

Eugene glanced over at his mother. Unsurprisingly, she was still sprawled over the couch still asleep. The TV was still buzzing, showing a morning talk show. She had passed out while watching TV the night before then. He sighed as he took the keys from her pocket. She never noticed so asking for his own set could wait. She had spares that she constantly forgot anyways. He tiptoed to reach the latch that had been placed too high. His fingers scraped the edge and he pushed down. The door moved ajar. With ease, Eugene could pull it far enough for him to slip through the crack. He shut the door careful that it didn’t slam and walked down the road.

The journey on the subway never failed to bore him. Other than that one time Charlie terrorised the tube. That had been more a nuisance than anything else considering he was fired at the time. People nattered like before he found the underworld. He cut off those thoughts by shaking his head. His hood fell off and the dizziness messed his thinking process for long enough for him to lose track. When the world had stopped spinning, the train had opened the doors. He recognised the stop and instantly threw himself off the train. Strangers moved out of the way (he’s alive, he saved Tatum and Finley). He landed on the platform as the doors shut.

The carriage began to pull away while Eugene watched. The racketing was louder than he remembered but maybe he had never bothered to listen. Once the train had gone, he walked up the stairs. Despite being early, he found himself running down the stairs from the platform. The school was up ahead of where he stood. The other kids on the train had passed the road earlier. He pressed the buzzer and stood back, waiting for the green man. It showed and he wandered across the streets, still looking both ways the whole time.

He reached his classroom with ease and pushed the door open. Everyone else was already there. Luke was sitting on his desk with his palm stretched out. He was making some wild actions as he recounted what Eugene could only imagine to be how they Jack got arrested. He placed his bag on the back of his seat and sat in the chair.

“Okay, so Kitty starts to speak to me…” Luke explained, “Something about kids, the park and Eugene doing something stupid. So, I decide what harm is there in listening? I was only a minute or so away. I walk down the road and see Eugene dialling the police about a domestic violence really really calmly. And the bloke who got arrested is yelling at him about killing him. Next thing I know dudes chasing us both down an alleyway.” 

Oliver and Joy were enthralled by the descriptions. They didn’t notice Eugene listening just as intently beside them. Luke did though. He glanced over at him and grinned, “Are we telling the version the police heard or what actually happened?”

Eugene startled at the sight of his name, “Uhh…” he looked over at the flower the hung limply out of his bag and back to Luke, “What we told the police? I’ll explain what actually happened later…” He bit his lip silently sending a pray that he had no qualms about it.

“Right, will do.” Luke responded, ruffling his hair before turning back to his (their?) friends. “So he trips over this rock. It gives us enough time to start making a mad dash for wherever really. The police hung up on us so at this point it’s us running until they get there. And you know that flower shop round the block? Woman there recognized us or something so saves our skin. We have just enough time to catch our breath before the guy is banging on the window.”

Joy and Oliver gasped as Luke left a dramatic pause. 

“The glass cracked.”

“Dun dun dun…” Eugene started. He trailed off when they all turned to stare at him. Before he could retreat into his hoodie, Joy laughed.

“It’s great to see you coming out of your shell a bit.” Joy said as she stopped giggling. Eugene peeked out of his hoodie a bit.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, “

“Want me to continue or are we going to discuss how far Eugene’s come the past few days?”

“Continue,”

“Okay. So the glass cracked but it still had some time to shatter before everything went terribly. Eugene takes my hand and starts sprinting out the back into an alleyway. We thought we lost the dude so we stop and think ‘oh maybe we can stop running now’ but no. I’m explaining to Eugene that you should never fight an alcoholic and he catches up and tackles Eugene to the floor. He’s trying to strangle him or something. He reaches for this stick which we are so fortunate lay there and whacks him round the head, clambers up, bashes him on the head again and comes over to stand above me. Let me get one thing straight, that dude didn’t stand a chance. We just didn’t get a chance to prove it because the police turn up.”

There were gasps from them all. Eugene smiled as they bugged Luke for more details. He placed his hands in the air and pushed them back, “It’s all on the news, anyways, the teachers coming soon and I really don’t want to not realise.”

“Right!”

“You had better tell us at lunch.”

“I will do now shoo!”

They swung on the swings in the park. It had become their meeting place if they didn’t share any lessons last period. Finley and Tatum weren’t there. That was a good thing he supposed, it meant they hadn’t given up on them. Eugene kicked off and swung back and forth as he waited for Luke to come round. 

The teacher had let out them out early. School had finished two minutes ago. There was no way anyone could have made it round the block in that time. Luke might have not already left block, ~~or maybe he left him.~~ Sweat began to coat his palms and each breathe he took seemed to dry his throat. He pulled out his water bottle and took a gulp. It didn’t make a difference. His hands slipped down the chains.

Eugene continued to swing idly. He missed it when Luke sat down beside him. 

“So, are you up to explain?” Luke asked.

Eugene scraped his heels against the ground and looked at him. The wide eyes vanished after he realised who it was and he nodded. “Right,” Eugene said as he pushed off again, “It started around four days ago maybe? I missed my stop on the tube. I got off and the station is dead, I’ve missed my last train and I honestly have a no clue what to do. I’m not a complete idiot so I thought, why don’t I just go to the customer support and ask what they think I should do?”

“Why didn’t you just call your mum or something?” Luke asked cutting through the story. It would have been a lot easier and saved them both a lot of trouble.

“Doesn’t matter. Anyways, that’s how I met River for the first time. She’s the woman who beat him up first. She looks pretty scary.”

“No shit Sherlock.”

“At first. I well, I ran away and it turns there was some kind of bar that separates your soul from your body? It does something like that. I didn’t know at the time so touched it and split body and soul apart. Some monsters came and that’s how I met Boss for the first time. He took me to the underground office and explained what had happened and what I had to do in the future to pay back the debt of him saving my life. There are other ghosts there but they’re paying for their misdeeds. If you stack up too many you can’t really come back from it. I umm… “ Eugene know he was trailing off. “I had to help three people with ghost issues and it was mainly done through dreams and that’s why I was in the dream with the cat and how I knew the mother had been murdered.” The words fell out of his mouth.

“That’s pretty cool y’know?” Luke said.

“Huh?”

“Well, I mean, you’ve helped at least three people. Maybe more with the whole ripple effect. That’s really neat to think about. I see why it’s so dangerous as well seeing the whole ‘one wrong move and I can’t pay back my misdeeds’ thing.”

Eugene scratched the back of his neck, “I guess I am a hero then. To more than just those kids.” He smiled shyly and threw himself off the swings. He wandered around the playground before settling on the roundabout. He leant over the railing and called Luke over.

“Can you push me?”

“Why don’t you push yourself?”

“Because I’d trip over my own feet and you’re stronger than me.” He stuck his tongue out and Luke rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but only this one time-“

“Whatever you say.”

By the time the sun was beginning to set, Luke had pushed Eugene four times. Each time was supposedly going to be the last one but it never was. When it slowed down for the final time, he hopped off.

“I ought to be heading home now. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Luke waved as he headed off. He lived nearer the school than Eugene did. They always left to make sure it was teetering on complete darkness for when he got home. It meant he was always on the train in the dark. With it being winter, the time was frustratingly early.

He never bothered to stick around longer than Luke. There was a higher chance of missing his final train again. Eugene wandered onto the carriage of the first train to come up. It was around the time his came and if not, he knew the neighbourhood well enough. The doors shut and Eugene fell back into a seat.

It was empty, rush hour had passed a while before he got on.

It was his train. Eugene pulled up at his stop a bit later than usual but there all the same. He pulled his bag tighter on his shoulders. He had one last look over to ensure he still had the flower before hopping off.

The way home felt quicker than it usually was. Maybe Eugene had just picked up his pace now he actually had a life to loose, or perhaps it was the fact he wasn’t completely dreading falling asleep the second he had finished his homework only to wake up a few hours later from a nightmare and the fact he forgot something. 

He fitted the keys through the gap and walked in. His mum sat at the kitchen table with her laptop on. Eugene peeked through the doorway. When he saw her, ~~still functioning~~ , continue on with her work, he pulled away. He crept up to his room and pulled out assignments and clicked the pen on.

He stuck his tongue out, it helped him focus a better, and started to finish the history essay on the war.

Eugene prayed that he didn’t pass out before he finished. Part of the deal was clear, school before the office. Picking up a pen as a ghost.

That sounded ridiculously hard.

**Author's Note:**

> Do I know where this is going? No.  
> All I know is that I finished UWO a few days ago, decided this was my favourite ending and ran with it. So, here we are. With this fic. It gives me serotonin :D 
> 
> Any reviews are mucho helpful ^-^


End file.
